Floodgates: A Faye Longchamp Mystery

Mary Anna Evans
Poisoned Pen Press (2009)
ISBN 9781590585917
Reviewed by Lynn O’Connell for Reader Views (7/09)


Nine names…two lists…and, of course, one corpse.  So begins the fourth mystery in author Mary Anna Evans ‘Faye Longchamp’ series.  In this mystery, Faye has left her home of Joyeuse Island to work on an archaeological dig just outside of New Orleans.  Faye is actually heading the dig, and her team consists of Nina Thibodeaux and “Dauphine.”  Dauphine is a part-time voodoo priestess as well as Faye’s landlady. 

Chapter 2 brings us the corpse.  Faye is there at its discovery by volunteers involved in Hurricane Katrina clean-up.  Police determine that it was murder and the victim was archaeologist Shelley Broussard.  Was Shelley killed for her archaeological discoveries, or did her murder have to do with her post-hurricane rescue work?  Detective Jodi Bienvenu hires Faye on as a consultant with the police department to help find Shelley’s murderer.

Meanwhile, Faye’s fiancé, Joe Wolf Mantooth, comes to visit.  Faye also connects with author and researcher Louie Godtschalk who is working on a book, “The Floodgates of Hell,” which will be a tribute to New Orleans’ engineers.  Louie quickly figures out that he will uncover more in tandem with Faye than his scheduled interviews with local academics and politicians.  Faye also befriends Dr. Robert Longchamp, a map connoisseur. 

The book is interspersed with attempted murder and voodoo until Faye, Joe and team members solve the murder and the meaning of the lists.

Evans does a nice job of combining historical information and modern events to build the structure for this mystery.  In fact, I rarely find many modern-day mysteries set in New Orleans; most tend to go back at least a century.  She also portrays New Orleans, then and now, quite accurately – including its rich diversity of cultures. 

The addition of the excerpts from “The Floodgates of Hell,” which provided the reminiscences of military engineer Colonel James McGonohan, were a wonderful addition to the book.  After I finished, I actually went back and re-read those excerpts.  Gonohan’s comments were of historic interest, but also of simple human interest.  For exempt, one quote from McGonohan reads, “It is a peculiarity of the human mind that we envision people from the past as quaint.”  He goes on to note that descendants do not view their parents as romantic or their grandparents as passionate. 

I particularly enjoyed the way Evans ties all the ends up by the final chapters – both those surrounding the murder as well as those loose ends in Faye’s own life. 

This book is definitely for all the Evans’ enthusiasts out there.  It will live up to expectations!  It’s also a great read for anyone interested in archaeology or in New Orleans.  Like her other works, this mystery is a quick and easy read.

Faye Longchamp once again takes us back into an era gone by, while still giving us the excitement of a modern-day mystery in “Floodgates” by Mary Anna Evans.

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